RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA— Bradshaw International is debuting its newest category, food storage, through a global licensing partnership with Groupe SEB’s T-fal brand. Both lines, Thermoseal and Ingenio, will be available on Amazon in early fall 2016, with other launch partners to be determined.
“T-fal’s brand identity is ingenuity,” said Steve Burgoon, vp/sales and marketing, Bradshaw.
For example, the T-fal brand’s Thermo-Spot in its non-stick aluminum cookware turns red when the pan is at the ideal temperature. These simple and smart product features are behind the success of the housewares brand, he added.
Troy Schuler, marketing director, Bradshaw, said that the T-fal food storage is a natural extension of the brand.
With the T-fal brand available across multiple segments in the kitchen, such as food preparation, cookware, bakeware and now storage, it can create cross-merchandising opportunities for retailers. For example the retailer could build a T-fal branded story on an end cap, centered on themes such as back to school or holiday cooking and leftovers, Schuler suggested.
Bradshaw is introducing the new T-fal Ingenio dry storage system, featuring a sealing system said to be airtight, called Lever-Lock. Like the name suggests, users can, with one hand, seal the canister and release the seal by lifting and lowering the lever on the top. Once the lid is removed, the lever acts as a type of kickstand, keeping the lid elevated from surfaces for hygienic purposes. Ingenio’s lids feature a see through window for top-down viewing. The container is made of clear SAN plastic.
The Ingenio assortment features a .5-quart 4-inch square container, as well as four 5-inch square containers ranging from 1-quart to 3.1-quart sizes. Two rectangular sizes, 1.8-quart and 2.7 quart, and a five-piece set round out the line. Ingenio is targeted toward the better mass, department and specialty store channels, and has a suggested retail price range between $6.99 and $20.
As the containers offer a black lid with a red seal, they are also intended to provide an alternative color combination for retailers from the white, stainless and clear options currently available on the shelf, noted Burgoon.
Food storage containers in Bradshaw’s T-fal Thermoseal line are differentiated with a two-way valve that allows steam release without the user having to remember to pop open a lid or open a vent when microwaving food. The patented Thermoseal valve is also said to be both air and liquid-tight for safely storing, heating and transporting food in the containers. The line includes a small square container at 3.3 cup capacity, large square container at 4.2 cups, and rectangle container at 4.5 cups.
A T-fal branded Thermoseal lunch combo features a 3.3- and 4.2-cup container joined at the center by the lid, ideal for a soup and sandwich. Bradshaw offers a floor display for its retail partners, which holds 48 pieces of this lunch combo set, with the retailer’s choice of red or green lids.
The Thermoseal food storage is targeted toward the mass and supermarket channels, and in addition to freestanding merchandisers, the line can also fit within a planogram of non-disposable food storage. It will all be available at below $10 suggested retail price, with promotional open stock pricepoints ranging from $4.99 to $6.99. Ingenio recently rolled out at Canadian Tire.
All of Thermoseal’s lids are double sided, so the user can snap any two square shapes or rectangular shapes together to create an on-the-go lunch solution in one unit, rather than two separate containers, the company noted. This modular benefit is not only applicable to placing it in a lunch bag, but also when seeking to take up less space in a refrigerator, particularly the community work fridge, Schuler suggested.
“The T-fal brand in the U.S. has great legs with the consumer, and one that could be expanded into just about every category that housewares plays in, bringing with it ingenuity to the business and to the end consumer,” said Burgoon.
With the T-fal brand offering cookware, bakeware, cooking appliances, gadgets and ironing, hydration is one of the next segments that is being eyed by Bradshaw for potential growth.Bradshaw’s T-fal cutlery lines, Comfort and Heritage Gourmet, rolled out at Kroger and Fred Meyer this summer.
